In the Colorado State Rams’ first NCAA Tournament game last season, wing Nique Clifford shined, scoring 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting as well as recording 10 rebounds and six assists in a win against the Virginia Cavaliers. The multitalented perimeter player showed a knack for impacting the game in a myriad of ways on both ends of the floor, as he is a very high-level defender on top of his skills on the boards and in the passing game.

In his fourth season of collegiate basketball, Clifford averaged 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game as well as contributing through his aforementioned defensive prowess. The Colorado Springs native is one of the better prospects in the Mountain West Conference, and will attempt to replicate last year’s success in order to stay abuzz on draft boards.

What stood out about his 2023-24 season was his vast improvement shooting the ball from beyond the arc, as he finished at 37.6% from deep on 3.0 attempts per game, as compared to 28.8% on 2.1 attempts the year prior. He shot 52.2% for the season overall, and was Colorado State’s leading rebounder.

His return to Colorado State was puzzling to some who thought he would have been taken in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, but clearly, Clifford is betting on himself. His role for the Rams this year will likely be to lead the team in scoring, as last year’s leading bucket getter, Isaiah Stevens, graduated this past offseason. Considering Stevens averaged 16.0 points and 6.8 assists per game, Clifford will have to shoulder a much heavier offensive load for the Rams this upcoming season.

While this draft class is stacked with young talent, it’s still possible that Clifford is able to make a name for himself if the shooting stays consistent and he can once again be tops on the team in rebounding. If his playmaking can take a leap, Clifford may end up going much higher on boards than previously expected.

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Colorado Gov. Jarid Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold say the state has completed updating all the passwords on election machines. This comes after a set of passwords for the state’s voting system were leaked online on Wednesday.

To complete the effort, eight staff members from the Department of State along with 22 state cybersecurity personnel were directed to make efforts to protect the integrity of voting. Each member of the team was background-checked and underwent the proper training. Additionally, they worked in teams and were observed by county election officials.

Griswold announced the leak on Tuesday, saying a spreadsheet posted on her office’s website had a tab with partial passwords for Colorado voting machines.

Following the leak, the governor’s office says they responded quickly to safeguard the election. Secretary Griswold says she appreciates the action as protecting Colorado’s elections is a top priority.

“Colorado has countless layers of security to ensure our elections are free and fair, and every eligible voter should know their ballot will be counted as cast,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold in a press release.

On Friday, the state’s Bipartisan Election Advisory Commission met at the Denver Elections Division, where the recent issue was a topic of conversation.

“One password leak is not going to compromise the whole enchilada. It’s just not right,” said Denver County Clerk Paul Lopez. “You literally have to be Jason Bourne. You’ve got to be Mission Impossible, coming down in here with badge access, physical access, to tamper with anything.”

Lopez attended the event where dozens of volunteers worked to verify signatures by eye. Between each step of the process, they weigh the ballot on a sensitive scale to make sure it all matches up. Despite an occasional irregularity with a ballot, they have not seen any major issues or problems related to the password leak.

“Rest assured that your vote is safe and will be counted and it is transparent,” said Lopez. “If you have any questions whatsoever, don’t go to Facebook. Don’t go to Twitter. Don’t believe the hype. That is a lot of misinformation. Hit up your county clerk’s office.”

Despite efforts to calm concerns, the incident has sparked controversy about voting in Colorado. Unsurprisingly, it has also led to political backlash, with various members of the Republican Party, including presidential candidate Donald Trump, questioning the integrity of the elections in the state. Trump’s campaign is now suggesting that voting should be paused.

“The Secretary of State must immediately identify the counties affected by the security breach, notify them, direct them to halt processing of mail ballots, and prepare to re-scan all ballots,” said a letter from the Trump campaign. This process is laid out under Colorado law and would not disrupt the voting process, as counties are not permitted to disclose results until 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.”

Colorado officials say there are multiple layers of security. For instance, the passwords shared were one of two passwords needed to make changes to the voting system. On top of that, these machines can only be accessed by someone in person. The machines are stored in a secure area that needs an ID badge to access and is under around-the-clock video camera recording.